Chapter 6: Skeletons and muscles

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

• Say what a skeleton and a bone are, and name the three jobs of the skeleton: support, protection and movement
• Name the bones that protect the brain, the heart and the lungs, and the backbone that supports the body
• Say which animals have a skeleton inside their body, and which do not, and sort animals into two groups
• Explain that muscles pull on bones through tendons, and that a muscle can only pull, not push
• Name a hinge joint and a ball and socket joint, and say how each one moves
• Explain how the biceps and the triceps work in pairs to bend and straighten the elbow

You should already know

• The food and nutrition that animals need to grow and stay healthy (Year 3 Science, Chapter 5)
• The parts of a plant, such as the stem, which holds the plant up (Year 3 Science, Chapter 2)

Where this leads

• Pushes and pulls, which make things move (Year 3 Science, Chapter 9: Forces)
• The body and how it works, in more detail (Year 4 Science)